Alec Cowan
Senior Podcast Producer
About
Alec Cowan is a senior podcast producer at KUOW, where he works on Booming and other podcast projects.
Alec has worn many hats at KUOW. He helped launch Soundside and brought many eclectic stories to the program, from a late-night patrol with real life superheroes to the sewing machine sounds of an artisanal sail loft. Additionally, he was previously a producer for The Record with Bill Radke and the Primed podcast.
Before joining KUOW, Alec worked in NPR's Story Lab, where he helped pilot the Louder Than a Riot podcast and assisted in producing a story on volunteerism in Iraq for Rough Translation. Originally from Grand Junction, Colorado, his roots in the Northwest begin in Eugene, where he studied English and philosophy at the University of Oregon and worked as a news reporter for NPR member station KLCC. He is likely neglecting his saxophone, growing book collection, and expanding personal project list in favor of boosting his online Xbox ranking.
He's proud to be KUOW's unofficial "boat guy."
Location: Seattle
Languages Spoken: English
Pronouns: he/him/his
Podcasts
Stories
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After more than a decade, Seattle passes new rules to protect more city trees
Seattle is known as the Emerald City, but over the past couple decades it’s been losing a lot of what makes it green. The city’s most recent tree canopy assessment, released in 2021, found that Seattle’s tree cover had dropped to 28.1 percent -- short of a goal set nearly 15 years earlier of getting canopy coverage to at least 30 percent. To protect more trees from development, many urban forest advocates have spent years asking for an update to rules for removing and replacing trees in Seattle. On Tuesday, those rules were finally updated.
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Hear it again: When WA was a country music capital — Stephanie Clifford's 'The Farewell Tour'
When you think about country music, places like Texas, Appalachia and Nashville probably come to mind. Maybe you even know about The Bakersfield Sound, a sub-genre of country music that sprang from California. But the Pacific Northwest has a long country tradition, from honky tonks in Tacoma to radio shows in Walla Walla and dances at Whatcom County meeting halls.
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What's in a weave? Native basketmaker and archeologist explore the stories baskets tell
Master basketmaker and National Heritage Fellowship winner Ed Carriere is teaming up with a retired WSU archeologist to explore the recent and ancient history of Native basket weaving, as Carriere works to keep the traditional techniques he learned from his great-grandmother alive.
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Spokane is closing Camp Hope, but for many the trauma of homelessness continues
Camp Hope, a large homelessness encampment in Spokane, has become a battleground between city, county, and state officials. It’s also brought a lot of attention and scrutiny toward Spokane’s homelessness policies. Local officials want camp residents moved elsewhere, citing concerns with community safety and drug use. Both sides agree residents should be moved elsewhere — but just where, and when, has remained an open question.
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Should we think of gun violence as a 'disease'? These epidemiologists do
For the first time ever, the Springer Handbook of Epidemiology has added gun violence to its pages. How does looking at gun violence as a disease change the way we view it?
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Sponsor of WA bill on trans youth targeted by right-wing groups
Last month, onlookers gathered at the state capitol to protest Senate Bill 5599. The bill recently cleared the Washington legislature recently, and extends emergency shelter options for youth seeking reproductive or gender-affirming healthcare. But despite its specificity, the bill has been swept into a larger battle over transgender rights.
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How have the Kraken gone from underperforming to unstoppable?
What a Game 7 it was in Denver. Kraken Right Wing Oliver Bjorkstrand slung a prayer of a shot and made one of the luckiest deflections you’ll ever see. The momentum from that goal led the Kraken to a 2-1 victory over the defending Stanley Cup Champions, The Colorado Avalanche.
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Poet Raul Sanchez on finding a voice that transcends language and borders
Raul Sanchez's poetry reflects an influence of American culture tangled with Sanchez's Mexican roots.
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Examining the role of guns and violence in the American West
Bryce Andrews grew up obsessed with the cowboy lifestyle. As a kid his parents would drive him from Seattle to Montana, where he shot his first guns on the prairie with his godfather. He eventually moved out to the Montana countryside, a city boy trying to fit in as a ranch hand.
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The Abstract: Why is some of our snow turning pink?
How do bacteria communicate? And what's the deal with pink snow? Soundside spoke with two researchers exploring the worlds of bacteria and algae to gather some insight.